The War
by Kyprish Prophetess
Summary: Remus has been vanishing for weeks on end, and Sirius is getting suspicious.
1. Chapter 1

Remus frowned, biting his lip. He hadn't had a decent conversation with his fellow Marauders since Harry's birth nearly two weeks before, and now here he was, walking towards the front room, which was entirely populated by said people, to tell them that he wouldn't be around for several weeks. (As well as find his bag; he was fairly sure it was by his coat).

Namely, that he'd be traveling for the next several months as a spy within a werewolf pack that Fenrir Greyback often visited, to determine where Greyback himself was staying.

He neared the door, and paused, debating not telling them at all.

_Are you a Gryffindor or not? Just tell them! It's not like they won't know soon anyway._

He nodded to himself, and stepped forward towards the doorway. Then he stopped again, hearing his name.

"… Moony wouldn't do that! … Would he?" Peter had never been very assertive, that was for sure.

"Think about it! He misses every other meeting, doesn't respond to our letters half the time, refuses to tell us where he's been disappearing to… it just goes on! You have to at least admit that the evidence is against him." Sirius. It was Sirius that, from what he could tell, was convincing the others that he was… what? A spy? Wasn't he the one that said he was better than the wolf? He'd become an Animagaus for him! Defended him in front of the Order countless times!

_Won your heart without even trying._ A nasty voice muttered in his ear, but he shoved it away.

"And Voldemort's been offering the werewolves more freedom than the Ministry ever will. There isn't even a full pack left that isn't considering his side! Remus has a lot of reasons to join; I mean, he can't even get a normal job with all the restrictions on him."

_Thanks, Sirius, bring it back to lycanthropy. It seems like since this war started, that's all I am to anyone; a werewolf with a wand._ Even Dumbledore seemed to think like that; he hadn't been near a normal fight or raid, despite his prowess at dueling. Only werewolf spy missions.

"But… but…" Not surprising that Peter couldn't counter; they'd never been the closest of the four. And he'd never been the greatest at arguing with Sirius' logic.

"Dumbledore trusts him…" There was James, who was big on loyalty. Remus almost felt this was worse, hearing his half-hearted defense. He was buying Sirius' speech as well.

Remus felt anger rise up, fierce and burning. Honestly, where did they get off immediately mistrusting him? They'd all done suspicious things in this war! And wasn't it Sirius who had said "this war won't tear us apart! We're the Marauders; friends 'til the end, and probably after!"

Annoyed, he walked into the room, feeling a slight malicious pleasure when all three occupants jumped. He looked at them all, settling on Sirius the longest before speaking.

"Sorry, I just left Voldemort's address in here; need it to report on Order dealings, you know?" He grinned a bit, knowing it looked feral, when Peter paled and James went red. Sirius stared back, looking like he wasn't sure if this proved or disproved his point.

"Not that I'm ever actually _at_ meetings, really. Skipping them is a ruse, of course, so nobody will notice that the few things I do know are being passed on." He looked away from Sirius, spotting his abandoned bag on the floor. He scooped it up, slipped the parchment with his instructions inside, and closed it up.

"Well, I'm off. I _was _planning on telling you three where I was going, but I figure, why bother? You'll think I'm lying anyway. Thanks especially for the vote of confidence on my lycanthropy, Sirius. I thought it was a nice touch." He looked back, vaguely noticing that a few other Order members had appeared.

"For all that Dumbledore stresses trust and friendship, you all turn on the easiest to blame fairly easily, don't you?" No-one responded, though he noted a few looked guilty. Well, that was a small victory, at least. He walked toward the door.

"Moony…" He didn't look back, and Apparated as soon as his feet were out the door.

_XxX_

Sirius shifted awkwardly as the other Order members who had wandered in gave him all manner of looks, before filtering back out again.

"Well, Sirius, are you happy now? You managed to publicly humiliate yourself and probably cause one of your best friends to never want to talk to you again without wands drawn."

"Gee, thanks. Never mind the fact that I could still be right, you go straight for the guilt." James glared at him.

"Well, I think your 'theory' is bull, regardless of how much circumstantial evidence you collect. Honestly, going through his bag?" Sirius pouted, annoyed.

"It could've had something…" James groaned.

"All it had was proof that he's living out of a backpack!" James exploded, before sighing.

"If you're so fixated, why not ask Dumbledore about it? He's gonna know when Moony was gone on a mission, at any rate. Now, I'm leaving, and I'm taking 'Tail with me before you try and corrupt him any more with this." They left, and Sirius only barely noted the odd look Peter was giving him. James was just pissed.

He made his way to Dumbledore's office, thinking the whole way.

_It all adds up. He's gone all the time, won't tell us where he is, misses all those meetings…_ This was the point where a second voice jumped in.

**But he was right; what could he tell if he's never here?**

_Still doesn't explain where he always is._

**Looking for a place to sleep? Trying to eat? You saw his bag; it's pretty obvious he isn't staying anywhere, and if that's all he's been eating lately, it's no wonder he's been looking so thin lately**_**. **_Sirius had to concede that point; Remus was way too thin at the moment, and he couldn't blame werewolf metabolism this time.

_Then why not say where he is all the time? It isn't that hard; "Hey guys, sorry I'm late, I was trying to catch some sleep after the moon."_

**That doesn't sound like Moony, you know. **He pressed it back, reaching the door and debating going in.

"Sirius, I would appreciate you actually coming into my office, instead of lingering outside the doorway." Sirius flushed a bit, and walked inside, sighing.

"Well?" Dumbledore was giving him one of those looks. One that said 'I already know what you're going to say, and want you to hurry this up.'

"Albus… where is Remus going?" There. Simple, easy. Dumbledore gave him an odd look.

"He didn't tell you? I was under the impression that he was going to disregard my order and inform you three of his current mission." The look was still there; Dumbledore already knew what had happened, didn't he?

"He didn't. He heard us discussing our theory of who the traitor was and ran off."

"And your theory is…?" Sirius sat down, groaning.

"You know the answer to that." Dumbledore nodded. He did know; it was common knowledge that most of the Order thought Lupin was the traitor. Dumbledore wished he could tell where Remus was going, but his missions were secret; he couldn't risk the real traitor finding out!

"And yet you ask me where he is?" Sirius looked up.

"Yeah, of course." He didn't bother elaborating.

"Well, I'm afraid I cannot tell you."

"_What? _Why?" Sirius felt a surge of anger, though whether or not it was actually aimed at Dumbledore, he had no idea.

"There are several reasons, one being that you were never supposed to know. But the main one would be that you no longer trust Remus, and I cannot risk his life by leaving such information in your hands." Dumbledore's look was hard. Sirius bit his tongue to keep himself from yelling angrily.

"But he is on a mission, right? He's been working on Order missions?"

"Yes, he had been on several. But when and where, again, I cannot say. Remember, Sirius, that there is still a spy, and regardless of who it is, it is far safer not to reveal a secret that does not need to be told." This was not reassuring. In a daze, Sirius left again, no more sure of anything than when he'd entered in the first place.

_XxX_

After a few days, Sirius' curiosity began to bubble, even as suspicion burned away. After all, there was still information being passed along, and Remus was nowhere near the headquarters. Was he?

Dumbledore refused to say.

After two weeks, Sirius began to worry, and noted that James seemed to be as well.

"Prongs?" He looked up from the report he was writing. He officially worked for the Aurors, after all.

"Yeah?" Sirius sighed, sitting in front of him.

"I don't think that Remus is the traitor." James grinned triumphantly. Sirius was known for making rash decisions; having a bit of time to think on it had managed to clear his head.

"Knew you'd see the light soon. You ought to tell him that, you know, when he gets back." Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw a flicker of grey disappear through the doorway, but when he turned, it was gone.

"'When?' Don't you mean 'if?'" James shook his head, setting down his quill.

"I can't go around believing that everyone is going to die on their next mission, that I won't be able to see them again. So no, it'll be when he gets back."

Neither noticed Dumbledore leaning outside the room, a relieved smile on his face. He walked away quietly.

After two weeks, Sirius noticed exactly how large his flat was. Not that it had anything to do with Moony, of course, but it was just so _roomy._ And there was the spare room, with a bed and everything…

He found himself cleaning it, finding blankets and things for the bed, as if he was expecting someone to show up and move in.

It took him a few more days, and the purchase of curtains, to realize who he was buying for.

By three weeks, the room was perfectly ready for inhabitation, and he was frantic. He had asked Dumbledore_,_ several times, if there was any word on Remus. He'd been given the same response every time.

"I can't tell you where he is. Yes, I've received a few reports, but all I can tell you of them is that he is alive." This, obviously, made Sirius more worried.

Two months passed. Sirius had seven new scars, three apologies for his behavior, and a vast amount of teasing, courtesy of James, that he was 'mooning over Moony.' Both of them ignored the pang it brought to think about how long he'd been gone.

Sirius noted, in his worry, that there was no more talk of Remus being the traitor, and that Peter didn't seem as worried as they did. But that was just Pete being Pete, right? Right.

Four months had gone by, and Sirius noticed that his flat was still too empty. He didn't really know what possessed him, but he went out and bought a bookshelf and put it on the wall. He didn't have many books to fill it.

He remembered that Remus did.

Five months. Dumbledore's new response to his queries about Remus was "He's fine." He wouldn't say anything if Sirius asked about the reports.

Lily was stressed, though whether it was from Remus still being gone, the newer, more dangerous missions her husband insisted on taking, or her engagement, was anyone's guess.

Six months gone by. The Order had just gotten out of a meeting, and most were already clearing out of the building, happy to get back to their families.

_XxX_

Sirius watched as the majority of the Order cleared out. He was staying behind, as he usually did, to talk to Dumbledore. He knew it would be the same response as last time, but he did it anyway.

The last few there were most of his graduating class, lingering to talk about James' upcoming wedding and other light subjects. He was about to go and find Dumbledore himself when he heard it. Footsteps on the walk.

He stood up quickly, motioning for the others to keep talking, draw their wands and be ready. That is, if by 'motion' you mean conjuring the words into the air.

He wrenched the door open quickly, revealing a cloaked figure standing there, hand raised to either knock or open the door.

"Name?" Sirius' voice sounded cold, even to himself. The figure didn't respond, and stepped forward slightly. He held his wand higher, letting a _Lumos _charm wash the face with light. All he could see was a thin beard and a scarred cheek.

"Who are you?" James asked, standing just behind him, wand also up. Behind him, Sirius could hear the others either standing ready or running to other points of the house, ready to defend it if this was a diversion.

A soft sound came from the depths of the cloak. The figure was speaking.

"Dumbledore… talk… mistake…" Well, _that_ was certainly clear. Not. Abruptly, the figure toppled forward, straight into Sirius. He grabbed hold, and immediately wondered why his hands felt wet…

"Shit. Help here, he's bleeding!" He backed into the room, dragging the person behind him. James closed the door after a wary look around. The room was empty of everyone except the Longbottoms, who were both quick to help him get the man onto the couch nearest the door.

Sirius pulled the cloak away, and immediately noted that the man wasn't wearing a shirt, only bloodied bandages around his torso. The second thing was that there were a lot of familiar scars.

Eyes wide, he looked up, to see the very dazed and bloody face of one Remus Lupin.

James gasped, staring at him, and Sirius would be willing to bet that Frank was doing so as well. Alice had run to get bandages the moment they'd gotten him on the couch.

"Remus? Remus, you in there?" Sirius realized someone had handed him bandages, as well as rags and healing salve that Mme. Pomfrey insisted be on hand at all times. He began working, peeling off the old bandages and cleaning off the blood for the new ones. Under the blood, long gashes littered his torso. Like claw marks…

"Remus? Moony! C'mon, say something!" He coughed, panting a bit.

"… s'm thin'…" Remus tried to focus on the familiar voice, or at least clear his vision.

"Close enough. What happened?" Remus tried to roll over, but was held down by several sets of hands. He closed his eyes, groaning. His mind was clearing a bit. He could tell who was binding his wounds, at least, though he had no explanation for why.

"Fight… gotta tell D'mbledore…"

"Tell me what?" In a rather cliché fashion, they all turned to look as Dumbledore strode into the room. Sirius finished wrapping Remus' chest, and ignored his arrival, searching for any other wounds.

Remus shot upward, eyes straining to see through the film covering them, before he was shoved back down. Sirius allowed him to prop himself up on the arm of the couch, at least.

"You're injured, now rest!" He all but growled, as Dumbledore walked forward, stopping next to Sirius, by the couch.

"What happened?" He began to shoo the others out of the room, in case whatever Remus had to say was secret.

"Don't bother; they'll know soon 'nuff wha' happened." Remus coughed again, wincing at the burning feeling on his torso that said the salve was working. Alice left the room anyway.

"Greyback's dead. I killed him two nights ago." Silence. For all of four seconds, anyway.

"_That's _where you were? Are you okay? You are okay, right? He didn't hurt you? Remus!" Sirius was flailing around in a panic, before a noise stopped him.

Laughter.

Remus was laughing.

"Moony! This isn't funny, it's serious!" James nearly groaned as Remus' eyes lit up evilly.

"No, _you're_ Sirius. I'm Remus, and this situation is ridiculous." Sirius came out of his panic to snort, before shaking his head.

"He's fine." Alice came back in, with a potion this time.

"Blood replenishing potion. Figure you'll need it." She handed it to him, smiling. He accepted, drank it all in one gulp, then turned back to Dumbledore.

"He came to camp about three weeks ago. Mostly inspecting the new recruits, ignored those that were over ten years old. I did my best to avoid him, cause he would've recognized me; he turned me and all.

"Two days ago, though, he realized who I was. He didn't say anything to the pack; he wanted to take care of me himself. We went to the woods for a 'discussion.'

"We fought, and I killed him. As soon as it happened, I collected what I had and ran. Everything I had is in my bag." He gestured to where his cloak was, and Sirius noted that there was a bag attached to it. Dumbledore nodded, reaching into it and removing a pile of parchment.

"Anything else?" Dumbledore examined his still form carefully, noting the thinness of his frame, but no other obvious injuries.

"No."

"Good. Now, where are you going to be staying? I have a feeling I know of a nurse that will be anxious to check you over."

"Um… the Leaky Cauldron, I suppose. Or…" Sirius jumped in.

"He's staying with me, of course." Albus smiled, and noticed that Remus looked surprised.

"Very good. I shall see you in the morning, then. Try and get home safe, please?"

"We'll do our best. Prongs, wanna help with Moony's bag?" James chuckled, picking it up as Sirius helped Remus to his feet.

"Of course, of course."

"Hey! Don't I get a say in this?"

_XxX_

Remus looked around the room in interest, nodding absently as James lectured him on not contacting them in six months.

"I know you weren't supposed to, but something would've been nice, and- Hey, are you listening?"

"No, not at all. Though, I'd like to remind you that when I left, you all thought I was a traitor and plotting to kill you. Remember?" James seemed to lose steam, and sat down, glancing at the doorway Sirius had disappeared through a few minutes ago, which led to the kitchen. Supposedly.

"Yeah… I'm gonna apologize for that. I never really believed any of it, but I should've said something instead of sitting there. So, sorry." Remus waved him off, before wincing as his chest twisted.

"Don't worry. Six months was plenty of time to get over it, trust me." James sighed in relief.

"It won't stop us from trying to make it up to you, but that's a start, I suppose." He paused, wondering if he should mention that Sirius' didn't think he was the traitor anymore, but decided against it. It was Sirius' job to tell him, not James.'

Sirius reemerged from the depths of the kitchen, carrying a tray of hot chocolate and cookies. Remus' eyes lit up at the sight of the mugs. He practically snatched it from Sirius' hands when he gave it to him. Sirius snorted.

"Let that be a lesson. _Never_, under any circumstances, get between a Moony and his chocolate." Remus pouted, huddling into his chair.

"Shut up. I haven't had chocolate in months." Sirius gasped in shock.

"You've been deprived of its sweet goodness? This is terrible! Rest assured, Moony, you will not suffer the indignity of it any longer! I, Padfoot, do hereby swear to keep your chocolate cravings fulfilled whilst you are here." He struck a pose, holding a straight face.

"Sirius, you are _such _a drama queen."

"Hey!"

_XxX_

Remus was thankful that Sirius didn't get many visitors. Incredibly thankful. Ever since he got back from his mission (which he revealed to James and Sirius later had been mainly located in Russia), people from the Order had been coming up to him with apologies for ever doubting his allegiance to Dumbledore.

It was driving him up the wall! At least he didn't have to go on any new missions at the moment; Mme. Pomfrey's orders were to avoid any strenuous activity until his chest was entirely healed. So he only had to worry if his presence was requested for a meeting.

Which was where he was currently, hearing James report what was going on in the Ministry at the moment. He zoned out again, thinking about the last week.

He'd half-wanted to string Sirius along for a bit, make him work at regaining his trust, but he couldn't do it to him after all. Sirius didn't really need the encouragement, anyway; he'd been showering him with apologies and gifts (or were they bribes?) since he'd started staying at his flat.

"Thank you James. Now, Minerva, can you report what happened in the raid on…" Remus tuned out again, having already heard this from McGonagall earlier in the evening.

Peter was sitting across the room, listening closely. He always had done so, claiming that he would forget otherwise. He glanced in Remus' direction, noticed him watching, and twitched. He stared a moment longer, before turning back to McGonagall. Nobody noticed. Remus frowned, trying to puzzle out his behavior.

He had been one of the last to come up to him, and had been rather reluctant to say anything. Remus had figured it was because of what had happened right before he left, but now…

Peter didn't know where he'd been. The only ones that knew what had happened, actually, were the ones that had seen him arrive. The rest of the Order only knew that he'd been on a long-term spy mission, and had succeeded in the end of it.

He hadn't asked, either. Dumbledore had made it very clear that he was not to be asked about the mission, stressing that what had happened was top secret. Remus wondered what the spy had been thinking, when he, or she, had heard that. Did they already know what had happened, that Greyback was dead?

_Well, duh, they'll know that. The question is if they know that I killed him._ He supposed that even if that was found out, the Death Eaters might assume he'd done it for revenge. After all, Greyback was the one who had turned him…

_Focus! You were about to discover something important!_ He was? Hmm… He'd been thinking about Peter, right? And the traitor.

Peter and the traitor… Peter and the traitor… Peter… the traitor…

His head shot up, startled. _Peter is the traitor._ Where had that come from…? Remus sat back again, ignoring the odd looks he received for his abrupt movement.

Any information the spy was getting would be through this spy, right? So they had to get it from the meetings. Peter was at almost every meeting… But that proved nothing.

So, what else? Peter mainly worked in code breaking and making protective gear, not going to the front lines. That might be something, but it wasn't grounds to accuse anyone.

_Neither is being secretive about where you've been for missions, _he noted, but pushed it off.

Really, nothing but proving that he'd been in contact with Death Eaters would be enough to say without a doubt that he was the traitor.

_He wouldn't have any reason to be in contact with anyone working with the Death Eaters, unless he's one of our spies. So, therefore…_But he lost the train of thought as the meeting adjourned, and a voice called out his name. Looking into the concerned face of Sirius, he shook his head.

_If I want to know for sure, I'll have to do some spy work of my own._

_XxX_

Spying on anyone was rather difficult when you were still restricted to your friend's flat, however nice it was. Sirius had actually said he could move in whenever he wanted, saying the place was too big for just him.

"_Is that why you randomly put in a book shelf, Pads?" _James had asked, laughing at the sheepish grin on Sirius' face. He hadn't denied it.

Remus had ended up moving his things there from their place, shrunken is his bag, though he did insist on helping out any way he could to make up for it.

But back to the problem, he was having trouble finding a way to do anything. Sirius worked with James during the day at the Ministry, so he could technically leave. However, Sirius also checked in every hour by Floo, to make sure Remus _didn't _leave. After all, he was still 'injured.'

He sighed at that thought. Despite how long she'd been treating his injuries, Mme. Pomfrey didn't seem to remember how fast he healed. As it was, his abdomen was only sore; it had already healed over.

He'd offered to do code breaking, go through post, something that he didn't have to leave the flat for, but Dumbledore insisted that they were fine with who was working on them, and had simply said to get well.

So he was stuck. It was frustrating, not being able to leave!

"Moony!" Three o'clock check in, right on the nose. Remus looked up at the fire, hiding his annoyance.

"Hey Sirius. Really, I don't need you to check on me. I'm already healed." They'd had this argument every day at least once, more so when something went wrong in the Order.

"Yeah, I know that. But I'm under orders to keep you out of trouble until Mme. Pomfrey says so." Orders?

"What orders? I thought you were just scared of her. And what do you mean, trouble?" Sirius' eyes widened, and he bit his lip.

"Er… well…" Remus' eyes narrowed.

"Padfoot…"

"I'll tell you later, gotta go!" And he was gone, disappearing back into the fire. Remus groaned, but he was grinning.

_Finally!_

_XxX_

Sirius sat awkwardly on the couch. Which was strange in itself; he was never _awkward, _and he rarely simply _sat. _Sprawled was more his style.

"Well?" Sirius looked up at Remus, who was watching him closely. Very closely, looking for any hint to his behavior. He sighed. Dumbledore wouldn't be happy…

Abruptly, he relaxed, and grinned. So what? He'd decided when Remus had returned that their friendship was more important than keeping every little thing a secret. Remus, he noted, seemed a bit surprised at this change, then suspicious.

"Please don't make up some lie, Pads."

"I won't. Look, Dumbledore wanted to let you recover, first of all. But when you were getting better, he asked that I keep you here for a bit longer."

"Why?"

"Because he knows that the first thing you'll want to do is find the real spy, and he's worried that you asking questions is going to make people suspect you again." Remus thought about it for several minutes, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Okay."

"Okay?" What? He was okay with being kept back for protection? That didn't seem like Remus.

"Yeah, it's fine. But, don't check on me anymore. Just tell him you are."

"Remus, if you start showing up at headquarters talking to people…"

"I won't, don't worry about it. I have other ways of finding out what's going on." Now, why did that expression on his face seem familiar?

Oh yeah; it was identical to any Marauder that was going to get up to some mischief.

_XxX_

Remus hadn't lied. He certainly didn't plan on simply _asking_ if Peter had done anything suspicious lately. First off, that in itself cast doubt on both him and Peter, which he didn't want to do if 'Tail was innocent.

Secondly, if anything out of the ordinary had happened, they would've already told Dumbledore about it. So therefore, he wasn't going to talk to the Order at all. Instead, he found himself walking into a seedy pub, one of the ones he'd frequented when searching for werewolves.

At this one, he'd found none, but had come across several career criminals that were laying low until the war blew over. He'd made some friends there; they didn't care about his 'furry little problem.'

"'Ey, it's Remus!" Someone called as he walked inside. He blinked for a moment, to let his eyes adjust, before heading towards the dark corner that the voice had come from.

"'Lo Pat, how've you been?" He settled at the table with the thief, along with two others whose occupations he didn't know. He wasn't sure he wanted to know them, either. Everyone has their limits.

"Fine, fine. Where've you been? Ain't seen ya in months." Remus shrugged, knowing that Pat would accept pretty much anything he said.

"Here n' there. Visitin' a few friends and such. Lookin' few another, but can't seem to find 'im." He let the accent flow easily, leaning back and gesturing for a waitress.

"Really? Mebbe we can 'elp. Who's he?" Pat glanced at his fellows as he spoke, smiling at the woman.

"Last I heard, 'e was callin' himself Wormtail, or sommat. Used ta call 'im that in school, cus he liked mice so much." He said it casually, but was hopeful. Peter didn't drink. Ever. He'd asked why once, and had been told that there was an alcohol problem in the family, and Peter didn't want to fall into it as well. So, if his name was floating in any bars…

"Nope, haven't heard it." Well, that was good, he'd hate to have to question the woman. He was vaguely worried she'd rip off his clothes, with the looks he was receiving.

"Naw. Weird name, tho, I'll keep an ear out." The third person didn't say anything, but shook his head. Remus smiled, then leaned in a bit, drawing their attention.

"I'd like this to stay quiet, if you know what I mean. Some others are lookin' fer 'im, and they ain't friendly." Translated: someone is trying to kill him, and I either don't want him to die or I want to do it myself. The looks on their faces said that they all understood. It wasn't odd around here, especially in the war.

"Course, course. Now, 'ow bout a drink?" Pat had impeccable timing; the waitress had just walked up to the table, smiling at Remus.

"So what'll it be?"

_XxX_

Sirius growled in annoyance, sounding more like Padfoot than he'd like to admit. Remus still wasn't home.

He'd come in, hoping that he'd only wanted to go out, maybe visit a few friends, and would be back before Sirius himself was. But it wasn't so. It was nearly midnight already, and no sign of him.

"Sirius?" He jumped, looking at the door. Remus was there, looking tired but pleased, and not a little confused. Sirius didn't answer; he was already bolting towards the doorway, yanking Remus in and slamming it shut.

"Wha-"

"Do you know how _worried _I was? I'm supposed to keep you out of trouble!" He was practically spitting out the words, shoving Remus into a couch. He looked up blearily.

"… Are you drunk?" Remus laughed a bit.

"Only a little tipsy. Gotta drink in a pub, you know." Wait, what?

"You were in a pub all day? What if someone recognized you?" When did Remus become so reckless?

"Not all day. And of course they recognized me; that's where I go for information."

"Information? What are you talking about?" Remus relaxed into the couch, and gestured for Sirius to sit back down.

"I was looking for people. Werewolves, criminals, general outcasts of society. Since they don't take sides, I just have to stay under the radar. I was asking about a few acquaintances I made earlier on." Sirius sat, raising a brow. He was calm, at least.

"Acquaintances? Somehow, I thought you were looking for the spy today, not hunting down drinking buddies." Remus rolled his eyes.

"They're informants, more than anything else. And I am hunting down the spy, just in a round-about way."

"You always did like beating around the bush."

"It kept me out of detention while you and Prongs, sadly, didn't manage to learn. Now, what's there to eat around here?"

_XxX_

There were no more incredibly late nights, though Remus did arrive after Sirius time to time. Remus said he had gotten a job; Sirius wasn't sure if he believed him, though it did sound like something that he would do.

"So… am I allowed to go back to the Order yet? Or will I continue being told I'm 'injured?' The full moon already passed…" Here, he paused for effect. "_Twice."_

"I know, I know. I keep asking Dumbledore, but he won't say anything. Just says to try and keep you inside as much as possible. It's like he thinks the moment you're seen, someone will know everything and kill you or something." Hmm…

"Does anyone know what happened in Russia, with Greyback?" Remus shrugged, staring into space.

"They'll know that he's dead, of course. But there was a storm when we left, and I burned his body, so it's unlikely that they know it was me. In all likelihood, they think we both died in that storm." He hoped that was true, at any rate. Though them only realizing what had happened after the was, when he could easily fight and not worry about being killed in his sleep wasn't a terrible alternative.

"You were practically bleeding to death, and you managed to dispose of a body anyway? Should I be worried or impressed?" Sirius smiled mischievously, and Remus followed suit.

"Both. Now, I have a more important question." He leaned in close to Sirius, eyes never leaving his face.

"When is James going to actually get married?" Sirius snorted.

"Who knows. He wants to do it as soon as he can, but Lily wants everyone to be able to come, so they're struggling with a date. I think Prongs is trying for April, but I dunno if it'll happen."

"April… if they do that, they're asking for a rainy ceremony. Lily wanted it outside, you know."

_XxX_

As it turned out, it was a rainy day. However, it was a _wizard _wedding, as much as Lily's sister despised the fact. Remus, Lily and three of the bridesmaids together cast a charm around the whole place so that the rain was stopped by an invisible barrier.

The result was that they were surrounded by a misty dome that Remus decorated with sparkling golden lights.

The ceremony was short, but the reception was wild, with loud music and louder voices echoing over the empty field in the Weasley's yard. They had volunteered immediately when Dumbledore proposed the idea of using the place, as it was already warded.

Sirius was playing with some of the kids, Remus noticed. A pair of red-haired twins, to be exact. He'd seen their older brothers earlier, teasing gnomes in the garden. If that, and how much fun Sirius was having, was anything to go by, those two would be hellions.

Sirius looked up at him, eyes sparkling. Remus froze, staring at him. Sirius' grin faded, and they both watched each other.

"Oi! Best man, you have to give a speech!" Their gaze broke, and Sirius stood, passing the twins to Remus as he walked towards where the newly-weds stood.

"Here, watch these, will ya? Little buggers wanna put dragon sauce in the drinks."

"And you said no?" Remus asked, amused, as he carefully placed one on each shoulder. They whooped at being so high up.

"No, I want 'em to wait until I can properly enjoy watching those that drink it." Remus snorted, and watched him walk away.

"Hey mister, is it true you played pranks at school too?" Remus glanced sideways at one of the twins.

"Yes. If you tell me your names, I'll tell you some stories."

"I'm Fred, and that's George."

"No, you're George!" Remus snickered lightly.

"Maybe you're _both _Fred." He felt them look at him.

"Oooh. That's…"

"Brilliant!" Remus laughed, and proceeded to talk about the Halloween Prank of their fifth year.

James glanced his way, and smiled, before turning back to where Lily was lecturing Sirius on what he could say in front of the children present.

_XxX_

Remus was struggling to walk in a straight line, as he was half-carrying Sirius, and they were both more than a little inebriated. Sirius was giggling about something, trying to pull himself up.

"We're here. Sirius, stop moving so I can get the door open." He barely managed to fit the key, but eventually the door opened, and they spilled into the room. Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius, before standing and locking the door, leaning on the wall. Sirius had made it to the kitchen, and he followed slowly, to be offered a glass of water.

"We're both gonna need it in tha' mornin'." Sirius downed his own glass, refilled it, and began to sip out of it as well, slowly.

"How is it that not a minute ago, you could barely hold yourself up?" Sirius shrugged, not bothering to answer. They sat in silence for another few minutes.

"Rem?" He looked up, only to have his lips met with another pair. It only lasted a moment, before Sirius grinned at him and walked out.

"Night!" Remus stayed where he was, rubbing at his lips. They tingled.

"Good night…"

_XxX_

"So, how've you been?" Pat looked up from his mug, grinning at him.

"Fine, fine. Listen, I been lookin' fer that friend o' yours, quiet-like. And I got a bite; some feller remembers hearin' tha' name you gave me in a pub by the river. Says he didn' stay ter listen, though. Looked like Death Eaters, or sommat. That what you was expectin'?" In other words, was Remus actually involved with the war, or not? If he wanted to remain in the loop, it had better be the latter.

"Sounds like what he'd manage to get hisself inta, at any rate." Pat relaxed a bit.

"You gonna step in?" Another test. Was he willing to get into the war?

"I'll keep an ear out, but I ain't messin' with the Death Eaters if I can 'elp it." And another problem averted. People here didn't take well to those on either side of the war, simply because they usually tried to get others in on it. This whole thing was tearing everyone apart.

"Righ', o' course. That's all I got, but I suppose yuh don' need much, do ya?" Remus shook his head, thanked him, and did what any wizard did when trying to change the subject.

"So, you hear about the Harpies latest game? Got crushed by Bulgaria last week."

_XxX_

Remus glanced at his watch and winced, but didn't move from his place. He was late, very late, and Sirius was going to begin worrying. But moving at the moment could become a huge problem.

He'd found the river pub easily enough; it reeked so badly of alcohol he could smell it four blocks away. He now was sitting on its roof, listening carefully to the talk inside that streamed out of the grate for the fire. He didn't want to be seen here.

"… they're getting out of hand. Wish someone would clean this mess up…"

"… Quidditch match bets! Get yer bets!"

"Firewhiskey! None o' that cheap Muggle stuff!" It sounded like any other pub, really. Wizarding one, at any rate. The amount of them had skyrocketed when the war started; safer to be in the company of possible Death Eaters and Order members than to risk being seen with Muggles.

"… tail…" He froze, leaning closer for the conversation, only to be disappointed.

"Yeah, I got some dragon tails. Fresh batch." Well, that was anti-climactic. Remus stopped himself from groaning, and glanced at his watch again, before giving up. It was nearly three in the morning, if he wasn't already here-

"Hey Wormtail, you're late" He blinked, glanced at the ceiling again, and slowly lay down, focusing on the words floating up through the grate. He was in luck, it sounded like they were sitting next to it.

"I- I'm sorry. Had to blow off s-someone to get here." Yeah, that was him all right. Remus moved slightly closer. He wasn't sure at this point what he was hoping to discover.

"We've got something for you. But not here." They all stood, from what Remus could hear, and a few minutes later, appeared walking out the doors. Two tall men, with Peter sandwiched between them.

Remus watched them closely as they walked away, and was surprised when, instead of Apparating away, they began walking down the street, towards an alley. Remus shifted, before quickly climbing down from his spot and following.

He reached the alley, but didn't enter. Instead, he settled under the eve of the next building and waited.

Eventually, the two emerged, but not Peter. Remus examined their faces closely as they walked briskly back towards the pub, then glanced at the alley. There was no sound. He walked in, listening carefully. There was nothing, and a quick examination of the alley revealed that they had left nothing behind except scents.

He inhaled slowly, memorizing every detail, and matching what he could to their faces. This was Remus' best skill, memory and sense. The werewolf part of him gave him what he needed, and his own mind could do the rest.

_Too bad Dumbledore won't let me do this for the Order. As it is, I don't know what I have._

_XxX_

Sirius found himself pacing again, as he had several weeks before. Remus had been careful since then to not be long after him, it was true, but that just made tonight more worrisome.

_Today, you mean. It's nearing four in the morning. _He ignored the voice, glanced at his wand, and sighed. Remus, no matter what he said, was looking for the spy. Dumbledore was still restricting him from active duty, though at this point everyone in the Order knew it wasn't for the injury.

Sirius had actually heard rumors that Remus was doing assignments secretly, others that he was inside Voldemort's headquarters. At least there were no whispers that he was the Spy anymore.

_Almost none. Didn't Peter say…_ He shoved that thought away as well. This was making him paranoid; he wasn't going to accuse two friends of the same thing.

But the fact was, Remus was doing something to get to the spy, which meant he couldn't send a message. On the other hand, if Remus was hurt, or trapped, and _couldn't _get a message out for help, then Sirius should try to contact him. But if-

_Gah! This is why I hate when he does this! I'm supposed to be the stupid one taking risks, not waiting here hoping not to hear anything bad!_

Sirius supposed it was justice, in a sense. Remus always seemed rather calm when he returned from a mission, before and after the Greyback incident, but he'd always caught a hint of fear and worry. If he had been feeling half of what Sirius was at the moment, he was fairly shocked Remus hadn't exploded.

_I need a drink. Man, I can practically smell one already…_ Wait, he did smell something. It was like an entire pub had decided to compile itself into one person-shaped blob of stench that was currently entering the room.

"_Remus?" _He knew Remus collected information at pubs, but the smell coming from him was like he'd swam through an alcoholic's wet dream.

"Yeah. Sorry I'm so late, I was… fishing."

"That's either the lamest excuse we never used on McGonagall or I'm not getting the meaning of the word. Please tell me it's the latter." Remus chuckled, rubbing his nose.

"It means I was looking for information, so don't worry. Though, I'm sure we said something to that effect one time. Didn't she ask why we were soaking wet after a run-in with Moaning Myrtle?" Sirius wasn't listening.

"Pads?" He looked up.

"Why did you come back smelling like alcohol?"

"Because the pub I was in seems to have been painted in it." He snorted, before walking towards the kitchen for some water. Sirius trailed after him. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.

"So? Did you actually discover something?" Remus looked at him, and bit his lip. It wouldn't be good to let the cat out of the bag just yet, especially because Sirius was so stubborn about the traitor not being one of the Marauders now.

"I might have a lead, but it'll take some more following. At the moment, I just know that this person frequents a pub that Death Eaters often visit, and they met with some people that could be Death Eaters."

"So, not much?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"And you still won't say who you think it is?" Sirius looked at him closely, hoping he'd give something away.

"No. You know why, Sirius. If I'm wrong, and there is a great chance of that, I don't want then to be suspected for nothing."

"But what if you're _right_, and they realize you know before you can get help?" Remus didn't respond, staring into his glass pensively.

"Remus… you don't have to do everything alone. I mean, I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, in fact I'm shocked you've forgiven me this much, or whatever it is, but you could tell someone what you're doing, it's safer for everyone, please don't do something stupid, that's my job, and how didn't you explode with all this worry-"

He was cut off. Not that this was weird or anything, he tended to babble when stressed, but how he was silenced was different.

Namely, by a pair of lips that, surprisingly, didn't taste of alcohol, though their owner reeked of it. He hadn't been drinking, then.

Remus pulled away, and Sirius unconsciously leaned forward, capturing them again. Remus let out a startled sound, pulling back further, before pausing and staying still. Sirius wasn't sure what he was thinking, but when he started kissing back, he decided he really didn't care.


	2. Chapter 2

"Sirius. Dumbledore wants to talk to you. Now, I think." He looked up, to see James standing in the doorway of the meeting room. He'd stayed behind to pack up a few things after the long discussion on the matter of their spies placed in enemy groups. Not that they could mention names, or anything they knew, for fear of compromising them. Really, they'd talked of nothing for an hour, before everyone had given up planning with a blindfold on.

"Yeah, alright…" He stood, stretching sore muscles. He wondered if this was what Mad-Eye felt like; old long before his time, and running on determination instead of strength. The war was going to kill them all, one way or another.

He shook his head, clearing it of his dark thoughts. He just wanted to get rid of the Death Eaters; they could worry about the rest after that.

James still stood there, watching his face. Finally, he grinned, bright and full of mischief. Sirius realized that it was the first time he'd seen that grin in a long time from James. He was glad for it, temporarily.

"Someone got _laid~_ Did you confess to Moony? Did you guys go at it like-" Sirius held up a hand, mock-glaring.

"Don't finish that sentence, I really don't want to hear more of your analogies; God knows they were terrible in school."

"I'll take that as a compliment, analogies are stupid. Are you gonna tell me what happened?"

Sirius paused, thinking of the night. The kissing, the awkward, then sprawled on the couch. Remus had turned to him, with a raised brow and the hints of a smile.

"What was that?" Sirius had grinned as well.

"That, Moony, means we are a couple. And you are now hereby obligated to share your plans. In detail." Remus had frowned, opening his mouth to argue.

"Nope, no fighting, we'll talk about it later. Right now, we both need sleep, it's not even late anymore, it's _early."_ So they'd slept on the couch, and Sirius had called in sick to work. He'd only bothered going to the meeting because, well, war is war.

"Nope, not telling you a thing, Prongs. You may get jealous about how well it went compared your confessions." James scowled, but moved out of the doorway, walking towards the exit.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll expect you to tell all later, but Albus really needs to talk to you."

_XxX_

Sirius wandered down the hall, still thinking. He had made Remus swear, though he'd looked a bit uncomfortable about it. Remus had even tried to talk him out of it, despite what he said about arguments, the next morning over their very late breakfast.

But when Sirius had said all he wanted was to know what Remus was thinking, in case he could help, so he wouldn't be in constant terror whenever Remus left the flat, he'd looked… joyous. Like a huge weight had disappeared, and he'd found something to help. Perhaps having someone on his side was helpful in a way that having the Order wasn't. A lover was loyal in ways teammates weren't, so that might be the push. Hell, it could be that the wolf was influencing shit, making Remus trust a mate more than a pack-mate, or something. He didn't know, but story-time would be later tonight, after he got out of here.

He made it to Dumbledore's office, or whatever it was called, and knocked.

"Come in, please, Sirius." He pushed the door open, and walked inside. He felt nervous, like he was back in school after a prank.

Dumbledore sat at his desk, watching him enter over half-moon spectacles.

"You needed to talk to me, Albus?" He closed the door as a precaution, activating the warding spells that prevented eavesdroppers from hearing a word. Though Remus had had a thing or two to say about depending on such spells, when they had been placed.

"Yes. I wished to discuss Remus' condition. How is he faring?" Sirius sat down in the chair across from the desk, absently brushing his hair out of his face.

"Well enough. He's fully recovered, has been for a while. Bit annoyed he hasn't had any missions, though." Albus looked surprised.

"Really? I would have assumed he was enjoying his break. In any case, he can go back on active missions in a few more weeks."

"He feels useless, since you won't even let him help with decoding or curse breaking. Why the wait?" Albus sighed, adjusting a few things on his desk. Sirius didn't look down to see what they were.

"He has been taking multiple undercover operations for the past several months. I would prefer to keep people thinking he is on missions, which is why he has not been attending every meeting. And I did want to give him a break; I did not realize it would cause his to feel unneeded." Sirius resisted the \urge to roll his eyes; didn't he know Remus at all?

"Was that all you needed?"

"Yes, that was all. Unless there was something you wanted to tell me?" For a moment, Sirius debated telling him that Remus had a theory on the traitor. But he remembered how hesitant Remus had been about even telling him, and resisted. They could collect more information before going to Dumbledore.

"Nope, nothing."

_XxX_

"Remus?" He looked up as his name was called, tensing for a moment before realizing it was Sirius, returning from the meeting.

"Sirius! Anything happen I should know about?" Sirius grinned tiredly at him, sprawling onto the couch next to him.

"Nah, they haven't said a thing anybody needs to know at these meeting in weeks. The spy thing, you know…" Remus chuckled, a bit dark.

"Excellent lead-in, Sirius…" He sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Alright. You wanted to know what I think. Please, just… don't be angry." Sirius nodded, slowly, and Remus sat still, wondering how to explain.

"I first thought of it… well, almost in a daze, really. But it started to make sense, so I went to some of my contacts from old missions- you remember, I came back a bit drunk- and asked around. Nobody knew a thing, but one of them heard the name mentioned, at a different pub, so I went there…"

"Pads, I think the traitor is Peter." He waited, frozen, to see Sirius' reaction. When there was nothing, he chanced looking up, to see Sirius staring at him, face stuck between shocked and morbidly curious. He gestured for him to continue. Remus took a breath.

"I didn't want to believe it, not really, but when I put out the word, at the pub- he never drinks, has drinking problems in the family- I got a hit, in a seedy pub. He was meeting a few people…"

"Remus, that isn't enough to do anything…"

"I went back tonight, found them. Either they're dealers of illegal artifacts or they're criminals of another type, but they _reek _of Dark Magic. I'm not talking like werewolf or being hit by dark spells, I mean casting them and being in proximity constantly. And I don't know who they are; they aren't Order members as far as I can tell, which is far. So, they're either third-party members or something else, but the fact is Peter was meeting them, dealing with them. Pads, I was suspected on less."

"But that's not-"

"I know it isn't a good reason to convict someone, that's why I wasn't going to say anything! I wanted to collect more information! Peter doesn't have a reason to be meeting _anyone. _If nothing else, Dark Magic dealers have good intel, usually, and knowing who they are is always good. I wasn't going to say a word about it until I knew for sure, and I don't appreciate being judged on it when even I don't know what I think yet!"

He was breathing harshly, not looking at the other side of the couch, so he didn't notice Sirius reaching forward until he was pulled almost into his lap, hands rubbing soothing circles on his back.

"Shh, I'm sorry, calm down. I just don't want this to turn into one of accusing the other again. If you remember, last time it was a terrible call and almost tore apart our friendship." Remus smiled a bit.

"I don't think we can call this friendship anymore, Pads."

"What, then?" Remus gestured absently with his hand.

"I don't know. Just… something more." Sirius smiled.

"Okay, I can work with that. So…" He had no idea what to say now. On the one hand, it was incredibly difficult to suspect his friend, knowing what jumping to conclusions had almost done last time. What if Remus hadn't lived through his fight with Greyback, and they'd never made up?

On the other hand, he didn't want Remus to feel like he was angry at him for being suspicious; Remus usually had a better sense of people (werewolf thing, he said), so if he was starting to think something, then there was probably good evidence. Subtle, but good. If he was right, Sirius really didn't want to turn him away from that path.

"Sirius?" He twitched, unsure of how long he'd been zoned out.

"Huh? Oh, yeah?" Remus chuckled, curling into his side.

"Stop thinking. I said I'd tell you, but you don't need to get involved. In fact, I'd prefer you don't." He frowned.

"But-"

"No buts. I will do this my way, and I will tell you what I find. But this is, for lack of a better term, a solo mission. It isn't dangerous, okay?" Sirius didn't like how he said that, reassuring without actually revealing what he was planning on doing, but he forced himself to relax, to nod and simply sit quietly. Remus was an adult, had done this before, and regardless of whether he had known it at the time, had made it through without him worrying about him. He could handle himself.

Yeah, rational thoughts were all well and good, but Sirius was still probably going to follow Remus to his next self-imposed mission, to see if it was as safe as he claimed.

_XxX_

Remus knew Sirius was going to try and interfere with his spy work. He'd known it the moment he revealed he was playing that particular field again that Sirius would give into curiosity and see him at work.

What he hadn't expected was for him to come out and tell him that he was doing so.

"What? It's not like I could hide that I was there from you! Well, I could _try, _but I don't honestly think that would work, so…" He grinned at him pleasantly, before shifting back into Padfoot, pushing a leash bought as a Christmas gag forward with one paw and wagging his tail hopefully.

Remus stared for a moment, before laughing. Padfoot's tail wagged faster, pleased with himself. He picked up the leash and attached it to the collar already around Padfoot's neck, and when had that even gotten there, anyway?

"Alright then, I suppose a second pair of ears couldn't hurt. Come on, and you may want to hold your breath when we first get there."

To be fair, Sirius had thought Remus was kidding when he had said the place he'd been was practically painted in liquor. But after choking on the air for a few minutes, he determined that he was probably close to the mark.

They walked slowly down the road, for all intents and purposes just a man and his dog out for a morning walk. In reality, Remus was following the scents of the men he'd trailed a few days before. Sirius was a bit amazed he could still find them under all the other scents, but a werewolf's nose was not something to be questioning. Besides, Sirius could pick them out now, too, as they'd followed them quite a few blocks now.

He was beginning to understand, after several hours of being a dog and actually following scents, how Remus could judge people based on them. Some, like their targets, just smelled… bad. Wrong, not like they'd forgotten to shower, but like they had bathed in something evil. He couldn't explain it. He was beginning to understand Remus' frustration at this exact subject.

He'd been expecting their trail to disappear after a few blocks, but after passing several good Apparition points, he began to wonder if they were going to be able to follow them clear into their lair, or whatever it was.

They were heading into a nicer part of the city, full of small shops probably owned by the same family for several generations. People stopped and waved at them, said hello, complimented Sirius' coat. Remus took it all in stride, stopping every time for conversation, never mind that they'd been out all day and needed to get to wherever this trail led before it went cold. As it was, Sirius thought it odd that he could still smell anything. Shouldn't it have gone bad in the day since? Cop shows seemed to say so…

One young woman stalled them on the sidewalk, smiling prettily and petting Sirius sweetly, softly. All the while she was smiling at Remus through her lashes, giggling as he told some fantastic tale of how he'd gotten the scar on his face (something about tigers this time, Muggles made for easier stories), and Sirius realized she was flirting. It took him a minute, because he was so used to being around Wizards who knew Remus' state, and were scared. And here was this girl, simpering happily at him. Remus, it seemed, wasn't as surprised at this as Sirius was.

He found his hackles were rising, and focused on settling down again when Remus looked at him in slight alarm. The girl hadn't noticed. She was pretty, he had to admit, freckles and dimples and bouncy curls. Cute. But innocent, completely oblivious to the war around her.

Finally, _finally, _they were moving again.

"You know she wasn't a threat, don't you?" Remus murmured, so quiet that even with his advanced hearing he almost missed it. He nodded, snuffling along the ground to smell better.

"Hmm…" But he didn't say more; one-sided conversations were difficult at best, and they were still in public. Sirius had a feeling it would come up later.

Abruptly, the trail ended, in another quiet alley, settled between an old bookstore and an empty building. Sirius sniffed around, confused at the end. They'd been walking all day to find… nothing?

"Alright, that's it. Come on, I'm starving." Remus tugged him further into the shadows, releasing the collar. Sirius changed into back into his human shape, and opened his mouth to speak. Remus covered it with his hand.

"Don't. Come on, let's go home. _Now._" A quick twist later, and they were standing in the center of their flat, wards coiling around them before releasing. Remus stood still for a moment, before collapsing onto the couch, muttering under his breath, paper materializing in his hands.

"Remus…?" He was spared half a glance, and a mumble about 'food,' but that was it. Sirius frowned, but walked towards the kitchen, making up some sandwiches and drinks. When he went back in (perhaps faster than normal, and the sandwiches _may _have been magically prepared, but whatever), Remus was hunched over the papers, half a map on one, and some lists on others, written in curling handwriting Sirius could recognize in his sleep. The words seemed nonsense, though, written in some kind of code?

He set the plate down, taking one for himself, and settled into an armchair so he could watch from across the room. He knew better than to interrupt Remus while he was working; several attempts while they were in school had ended in bizarre curses on everyone in the vicinity. Of the magical and vocal variety.

The room was silent except for the sound of a skittering quill for a long time. Sirius was slumped backwards in his chair, and the room was getting darker…

_XxX_

… _Left at the turn, past the bookstore, into the alley. Apparated away with third party. _he sighed, leaning back and looking over his handiwork. The map of where they'd walked that day was finished, as precise as he could make it without actual magic.

He looked up, realizing several things at once; one, he had been eating off of a plate in front of him for a while, as it was only filled with crumbs now.

Two, it was no longer late, but early. He wanted to collapse, and wondered how Sirius would fare.

And three: Sirius had fallen asleep watching him from across the room, sprawled out on the chair with the last bite of a sandwich of some kind still in his hands.

Smiling softly, he strode over, taking the piece out of Sirius' hands. He felt the urge to cover him with a blanket, but it was far too warm for that. Instead, he removed Sirius' shoes, set them aside, and lay down on the couch, falling asleep almost before his head hit the cushion.

_XxX_

"So… exactly how did I miss all of this while we were walking? There isn't a single thing here that I can remember noticing, and I was there!" Remus shook his head, grinning slightly.

"You did, you just don't remember it. Or, more likely, you're lying. Now, help me figure this out." He gestured to the last of the lists laid out on the table, the only one not coded. He knew he didn't need to code things around Sirius, but he didn't want anything getting into the wrong hands.

"What, exactly?" Sirius was looking closely at the paper, mouthing the words as he read. It looked like a grocery list, for someone with a long list of allergies or eating habits.

"Does anything on that list strike you as odd? You grew up as Pureblood; anything standing out? Or rather, do they all go into something?" A good portion of the items he'd smelled as they'd walked were herbs, available in many Muggle shops or garden centers. A few struck him as strange, but he couldn't think of anything they could be used for besides cooking.

"Um… nothing? I can't think of anything that could use a bunch of plants, except a potion, and most of these don't have a magical use…" He sighed, pushing it away.

"Right, something to look into later. The areas they went to were odd; out of the way, in weird areas, very far from each other…"

"Maybe they were worried they were being followed?" Remus snorted a bit.

"They weren't looking far enough into the future, then… but okay, that's an idea. Except they acquired a third party before Apparating." He points to the location on the map, miles away from the pub where they started. His feet still hurt a bit, though he was used to long treks. Sirius hadn't mentioned anything, making Remus wonder if the Animagus form had taken the brunt of the damage.

"Yeah, hours after their meeting with Wormtail. Why not just Apparate, though? Can't follow that kind of trail, they wouldn't have to worry about a thing." Remus frowned, tapping the table absently.

"They didn't have a place to spend the hours? Or maybe they were signaling someone as they walked? I really don't know." This was the frustrating part of the job; having a pile of information and nowhere to go with it.

"Maybe they couldn't. Apparate, I mean. And just figured they'd walk to whoever they were meeting." He paused in his tapping, looking back up.

"Yeah… maybe? I couldn't smell any magical creature on them, though, and they _reeked _of Dark Magic, so unless they're completely surrounded in it…" He stopped, meeting Sirius' eyes in surprise.

"Imperius. They're being controlled." Sirius cursed, clenching his fists.

"They're probably just some Muggles they picked up off the street to do their dirty work! They… this is-" he groaned, letting his head fall into his hands.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither looking at the other. Finally, Sirius spoke again.

"We should tell Dumbledore." Remus' head snapped up, mouth open to retort.

"Not the spy thing!" Sirius jumped in quickly, cutting him off.

"I know we still have nothing, really. But if the Death Eaters are taking Muggles for Imperius, Dumbledore should know. And the Order. There aren't many things they'd need a Muggle specifically for."

"Maybe they have access to something that they can't get at normally? It's not like they're going to have much idea what to do with Muggle inventions…" Remus frowned, puzzled.

"What would that be, though? They don't know because they don't _care_, and they could torture anything they needed to know out of them." They both winced a bit. Neither wanted to think of the bases they'd found, empty of anything save bodies. Homes destroyed and bearing the grinning skull.

"Dumbledore might know; that's why we should tell him. We just won't mention exactly how we found out."

_XxX_

To say the entire Order was confused by this turn of events was to say that Fiend Fyre was mildly warm.

"You two think that the Death Eaters are taking Muggles under Imperius?" Alastor Moody sat with his arms folded, staring at them while his other eye whirred around, looking at everyone's reactions.

"We can think of no other explanation for their behavior. They did not Apparate, or use any magic whatsoever, in places where it would have been normal to do so. This isn't enough, I know. But they also had absolutely no traces of magic on them with the exception of Dark Magic, and-"

"Well, if they're Death Eaters, of course they wouldn't!" Someone called from the back of the room. From where he stood, near the front, Remus couldn't see them, and didn't bother trying to turn to do so.

"Mr. Diggory, I do hope you realize exactly how few spells contain Dark Magic. They had _no _traces, which means that normal spells had _never _been performed near them, or they were so long ago it has washed out of their bodies. Magic seeps into you, even if you didn't perform the spell. These men had never used even something as simple as a _Lumos _charm, do you understand?" There was an odd silence, as the Order sat, considering. Sirius, who was standing at Remus' side, wondered if they were considering _why_ this had come up, or were just trying to find a way for Remus to be wrong.

"How sure are you that they weren't Dark Creatures? They have traces of Dark Magic as well, and very few- no offense, Lupin- know how to wield a wand at all. Could it have been something like that?" He _sounded _sincere, or his words did. The tone was dismissive. It was rather obvious that this man didn't believe Remus could tell one end of his wand from the other.

"I have been raised and trained to tell Dark Magic from Dark Nature, and I assure you I am very capable of doing so. These two men were coated in Dark Magic, the kind that stems from Unforgivables, but otherwise had no magic in their systems. It is unlikely they had any contact beyond the original spell with any form of enchantment." Remus face was bland, but Sirius could see his hands tighten into fists, hidden by the table.

"Trained? I thought you were just an average schoolboy, only different once a month." The mans voice had grown harsher, and there were a few nodding heads in the room. Many just looked uncomfortable.

"Whoever told you that has been mistaken. I am a werewolf, and a wizard, and I would like to remind everyone that outside of the walls of Hogwarts, my lycanthropy wasn't thought of as a 'difference only once a month.'" He sighed, rubbing his face with one hand.

"But that isn't my point. I-" He was cut off when the man stood. Sirius finally recognized him as an older member of the Order, who worked in the Auror department.

Catching Dark Creatures.

"You claim to be human one day and say you're entirely different the next! I will not listen to your lies and trickery!" He turned to the rest of the Order.

"They say that the Death Eaters are taking over the minds of Muggles, and can't even come up with a simple reason as to why! Should we really believe these two found anything of the sort? Especially as _Lupin_ has been practically under house arrest since he came back from his mission."

This was _so _not going well. Sirius glanced at Remus, who was watching the Auror continue to yell with a bland expression. His eyes were yellow, though, and practically glowing in the dim room.

"Enough." Someone said, loudly but calm enough to cause the others to quiet. Sirius glanced around for a moment, only to realize that the speaker had been him.

Whoops.

"Look, is it really that hard for you to set aside whatever ideas you have about Remus and just think on the problem? I really don't care if you believe either of us," he said, carefully tying them together in this, "but it can't hurt to discuss anything. And if you're on the lookout all the more because of it, what harm can it do?" Wait, this was him speaking? In a calm tone, not yelling at someone because they implied that Remus, being a werewolf, couldn't be trusted?

Maybe all those months of Remus being missing had had a greater impact than he thought.

… He desperately wanted to scream at this man for what he'd said, though. Peacekeeping was so _not _as easy at it looked. How had Remus kept them all alive in school?

Thankfully, Dumbledore finally chose to intervene. He stood, silvery robes falling over themselves in a graceful fall to the floor as he leveled them all with a shrewd gaze.

"I agree with Sirius. Until such a time when we are certain of everything the Death Eaters do or plan, we will not dismiss something said with such certainty by one of our members. I want all of you to watch for something of this nature on your missions and at work, and report if you come up with something. Does anyone have any other objections?" There was silence, and the Auror finally sat down.

"No? Then we shall continue. Frank, please report your findings."

_XxX_

Dumbledore had them both stay behind, after the meeting was over. Sirius was asked to wait outside the office while he and Remus spoke. It felt like school all over again, each of them being questioned separately to find flaws in their cover story.

He fiddled with his wand absently, sending stray sparks towards the opposite wall. He didn't care for feeling like a child, especially considering the situation. Remus hadn't wanted Dumbledore to know his suspicions of Pettigrew until he could collect more evidence; what was he going to say to explain why they'd been following those men in the first place?

"Sirius, if you would join us?" He stood quickly, striding into the room where Remus was already sitting across from Dumbledore, a cup of tea in his hands. His eyes were closed, but he seemed tense.

"Remus has been trying to explain exactly how he could tell it was Dark Magic. I'm afraid I can't make sense of his explanation; perhaps you can help?" Sirius sat down, glancing at Remus again. He was still breathing in the scent of the tea, not drinking.

"Well, as best as I can say it, the Magic on them felt… wrong. Like it was corrupted, or dirty. Most magic feels like power, the kind you feel when you stand in the ocean and feel the waves, or when you're in a very old forest and listen to the wind in the trees." It's all very poetic sounding, but he'd never been able to explain how Magic felt to him. Padfoot's sense of smell had only heightened how he felt the tug and pulls in his core.

"I see. And how is it that you can sense this, when most Wizards I know can't even define what Magic feels to them?" Sirius blinked, looking at Remus again. He'd tensed up a bit, but not enough for this to be a surprise. He'd known where this was going.

"Are you questioning my truthfulness, sir?" Dumbledore's face was troubled.

"No, not exactly. But I feel you both are leaving something out. Something important." Sirius froze, staring off into the middle distance. Animagus forms enhanced Magical senses, depending on the species, to a point midway between normal Wizards and Magical creatures. Dumbledore probably knew this.

Sirius didn't doubt there were other, darker ways that Dumbledore was considering as well, considering his face.

On the one hand, telling him about the forms could be the best way out of this situation, and be beneficial to future missions. On the other, he was loathe to give up a secret held by the other Marauders, and it could get Remus in trouble.

He looked at him once more, out of the corner of his eye. Remus was looking at him, and when their eyes met, he nodded, just slightly, masking it as a sip of tea. He tapped one finger.

"I'm an Animagus, Albus. I went with Remus in dog-form; that's why I know what he's talking about."

_XxX_

Remus was annoyed, at several things currently.

That old Auror, though it was an old anger, from when he was a child facing Registration. They hadn't trusted him then, they certainly didn't now.

Dumbledore forcing Sirius into a corner and making him tell about his Animagus form. He didn't like revealing such secrets in this place, where the spy likely frequented. Who knew how he was getting information. (If it was Pettigrew, he had a good idea)

The entire spy situation, obviously, and the fact that it sounded like the Potters were going into hiding.

But his top pick was definitely the fact that his tea was spiked with some kind of potion.

"You- what? When did you do this?" Dumbledore looked surprised, which was good, actually. There were plenty of Dark, illegal ways to enhance Magical senses, many of which Sirius could have done at home with ease. It could have been a much worse secret.

"Fifth year. W- I started studying the idea in second, when Remus told us." Not entirely accurate; they'd found out, when he kept vanishing and coming back wounded. He'd been a terrible liar in the beginning of school.

"You did this in _school_? Why, exactly, did-" He cut off, and Remus could feel his gaze linger for a moment.

"Never mind, I believe I know. Tell me, are the other two involved?" Neither of them bothered answering. Remus set the tea cup down, away from him before he inhaled it and found out what was in it the hard way.

"Right. So, you both went to trail these men, and used your… abilities to tell what they were?" Sirius shrugged, leaning back. He probably wanted Remus to explain the situation.

"I'd run across them talking of meeting an associate, in a pub I was sitting in at the time. We were actually trailing to see where they went, but their Magic was confusing, as it didn't feel like a normal Wizard, even one possessed, or bearing the Mark, could avoid every normal spell."

"I see. Was there anything else you noticed?"

"We went back to follow them later, as they'd walked out of the alley I'd found them in, and I didn't want to be caught. All I know is where they went and that they met someone. A Wizard, I believe, as they had a normal presence." Sirius nodded along, glancing at the cup on the desk in confusion.

"I'm afraid I will never fully understand, but I believe you are both telling the truth. You described it nearly the same, this method of determining magical alignment. Remus, aren't you going to drink that tea?" Remus looked at the cup again, frowning.

"It's spiked, sir. I don't care to drink unless I know what's in it." Both of them were staring at him now, before Dumbledore frowned and passed a wand over the steaming cup. The liquid glowed green.

"Some kind of poison. Remus, you didn't drink this, did you?" He shook his head, before freezing. Sirius seemed to be drawing the same conclusion as him, and was already casting spells around the room in a flurry.

"Someone's just tried to poison you, Headmaster." The tea was from his stash, kept around for extremely trying circumstances. He'd thought Remus could use a calming drink.

"Who gives you your tea, Headmaster? And who would have access to it?" Dumbledore was shaking his head.

"I buy it from a Muggle store, it-" Sirius exclaimed loudly, cutting him off.

"That's it! Remus, one of the places they stopped was a tea shop! The herbs you smelled, could they have been tea, not cooking herbs?"

"Maybe? Probably. Dumbledore, where do you buy your tea?"

_XxX_

The news that Dumbledore had almost been poisoned was kept under wraps. No need to let the spy know that their attempt had failed; they could be waiting for the news still.

A discreet visit to the shop that Dumbledore frequented for his tea confirmed that the herbs Remus could smell on them came from here. It was a little past where they'd been Apparated out. When they'd gone inside to double-check that he wasn't mistaking it, they found one of the Muggles they'd followed standing behind the counter, smiling.

"He isn't under the spell right now. I suppose that's another point for our theory; he would be needed once the poison was passed along."

"And I doubt any Wizard, no matter how loyal, would want to work in a Muggle shop for however long it would take until Dumbledore came in to buy some tea." Sirius grinned pleased that they'd solved that.

"Yeah. Now, let's go home."

_XxX_

The next meeting, Pettigrew attended. Remus, sitting across from him, could practically feel the waves of Dark Magic washing off of him. It seemed in the last few days he'd become an integral part of the other side. Or he was…

Remus was having a hard time figuring out another reason for him to smell like that.

The issue of the Imperiused Muggles didn't come up until the end of the meeting, and Remus had hoped they wouldn't have it.

"So, Lupin, come up with a solution to your Muggles yet?" The Auror watched him, looking as amused as anyone could be in a meeting for war plans. Remus didn't answer, not thinking it worth it to start another fight.

Pettigrew threw a hand in the air.

"What Muggle thing? Did this come up last meeting?" Most looked over at him in annoyance. Missing several meetings in a row had caused them to have to repeat things all day.

"Lupin and Black have a theory that the Death Eaters are possessing Muggles to do their dirty work." The Auror tossed out, not even looking. Nobody was, really, except Remus and Sirius.

They were, therefore, the only ones that noticed Pettigrew's look of shock, followed by a shot of fear.

"We did, actually." Dumbledore was the one who stood, eyeing them all in contemplation.

"Remus and Sirius, along with myself, found that the Muggles Imperiused were working in a shop I frequent. They had slipped poison into my tea." The silence was deafening.

"Sir! You were _poisoned?"_ McGonagall looked horrified, though whether it was because Dumbledore had nearly died or hadn't told anyone, he didn't know. Sirius rubbed the back of his head when she looked at him.

"You knew as well?" He shrugged. Remus was glad she wasn't looking at him; he'd had enough of feeling like a child when he'd been a student.

"Yeah. I mean, I was there." Dumbledore coughed, trying to call the meeting back into order. It was ignored.

"You _knew _and didn't say anything? Albus! What if the Death Eaters try this again? Have you seen a Healer?" He shook his head.

"I didn't drink it. Relaz, Minerva, every precaution has been taken. I have someone investigating what was in the tea. Now, may we continue?" She stood still, before nodding once and sitting stiffly. Remus didn't doubt that it would be brought up again, in private.

"I regret to inform you all that the Potters, Longbottoms and Tonks have all gone into hiding for the foreseeable future, and will not be joining meetings. That is all." Wait, what?

"Sir, is that wise? Just saying that they've gone underground?" Sirius beat him to the punch, walking up to him as the rest of the Order cleared out.

"I have reasons to do so, Sirius. In addition, I do not think that me telling what is already well-known or guessed will hurt them. That does remind me, though; I have a letter for you, from James and Lily."

_XxX_

"Lily's _pregnant?_ Already?" Remus was eyeing the letter as though it was a Howler, ready to ignite.

"They want me to meet them to become the Secret Keeper. Do you think it's a good idea? Picking me is a bit of an obvious play." Sirius looked at the lower paragraph outlining how he could send word that he would do it. The Mirror, essentially, but it gave him something to look at that wasn't Remus biting his lip.

"It is obvious. Most Death Eaters will guess that, as would Voldie should he think about it. But… they don't have many options. Dumbledore could do it, but I think James wants his friend to cast it. Besides, I at least have faith that you wouldn't tell anyone."

"Why not you? It wouldn't be as obvious, and he trusts you just as much…" Remus was already shaking his head.

"Those kinds of spells usually break at the full moon. I don't know if it would hold. I wonder, if you say no, would they ask Pettigrew?" Sirius froze, looking at Remus.

"They would, wouldn't they? They trust him." Remus met his gaze, a bit fearfully.

"We should tell them. What if they contact him, and we're right? If he is in league with the Death Eaters, he could take them right to their front door!" Sirius nodded, and set down the letter.

"That's it then. I'll do it. Wish we could test whether you could be the Secret Keeper, but… yeah, this isn't the time. I'll contact James."

_XxX_

"You think _what?" _Sirius sat silently on the couch, not bothering to answer this time. He didn't like the situation, not at all, and Lily seemed to notice, as she laid a hand on James' arm.

"James, don't explode. I doubt Sirius would make the same mistake twice." She put a bit of emphasis on twice, enough to make Sirius wince.

"Have you_ met _him?" James grumbled, but he sat down next to her, as close as he could, and leaned on her shoulder.

"OK Padfoot, what on Earth makes you think that Peter of all people is the spy." Sirius finally looked up, watching them closely.

"That, for one. Nobody would suspect him. But he has access to a lot of information, why doesn't anyone ask…? No, forget that, that isn't why this came up. Actually, it's Remus' theory." He explained, carefully, every bit of information that Remus had dug up. Besides that meeting, there were other things; the Dark Magic traces, the flashes of grey on the floor during some key conversations that had later been betrayed. The fact that even now, he was still helping convince people that Remus was the spy. He'd heard about that from Hagrid, though who knew where _he'd _found out.

James and Lily sat in silence for a while, watching him. Lily was rubbing at her stomach; she wasn't showing yet, but maybe she could feel the baby already?

"Look, we only thought you should know what we were thinking. Just in case, you know? I'll be your Secret Keeper, and you won't have to worry!" He grinned a bit, but couldn't muster the energy to make it look realy. He probably looked like he'd eaten something strange.

"Sirius…" He waved off the complaint.

"No, really, don't worry about it. I'm not going to spread dirt about anyone, especially if we end up being wrong. It's just that… well, Moony usually isn't wrong, and I don't want anything to happen to either of you. You guys are my best friends, and now you have a baby on the way…"

"That's what I'm trying to talk about, Sirius. We," Lily looked at James, who hesitated, then nodded, face thoughtful and tense, "we want you to be the godfather."

"You… wait, what?" He probably looked like a fish.

"_That's _the Pads I know. Confused." James grinned at him.

"Like you said, mate, you're one of our best friends. And if something _does _happen, well… we think you and Moony would be the best for the baby. We'd name Remus as godmother, but I don't think he'd appreciate the thought." Sirius snorted, picturing Remus' face if he was told he would be a godmother.

"I- well, can't say you have bad taste in guardians, but…" he shook his head.

"Thank you. I hope it won't come to that, though. I just want to send your kid terrible gifts and spoil 'em rotten when they come to visit." Lily smiled softly at him, and James reached over and clapped him on the shoulder.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. We'll all make it out of this. And as to Pete…" James took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

"If you both think that, then we'll be careful. It won't be an issue, we're essentially on lockdown here. There's a family house elf from my parents that'll be bringing food, and you know they can't break where the house is to anyone, but other than that, you'll be our only contact to the outside world." Sirius nodded, and stood, taking James with him.

"Right. I- that's good to know. Well," he watched as Lily stood, drawing her wand from her sleeve, "shall we?"

_XxX_

"So, that's it, then. They're as safe as they can be. Send my love when you go next, won't you?" Remus smiled over dinner. He didn't like that they had to be hidden away, but with Lily pregnant and Voldemort gunning for them and the Longbottoms for some reason nobody knew quite yet… he'd prefer them all to be safe.

"You could go. You couldn't reveal the secret even if you wanted to, and they would like to see you, I think." Remus shook his head.

"It's safer if I don't. The longer it takes for people to realize they're under the Fidelius Charm, the better it is. Eventually, we'll have to go under as well, you know. Death Eaters will be trying to get their location out of you when it becomes obvious you're the only one that knows." Sirius scowled, poking at his dinner. Pasta, as it was quick and easy.

"I don't like that. We could still be useful, now we're all out of commission." Remus looked up at him, eyebrow raised.

"I want to be in the action too, remember?" Sirius looked up at him in surprise.

"I know! I didn't mean it like that. I just don't like that this is going on. I mean… I don't know. This whole thing grates on me. You think Dumbledore will even let us on any missions, or force us straight into hiding?" Remus looked back at his plate.

"To be honest, I was more wondering if he would separate us. He might think it's safer…" Sirius grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up.

"Then we'll ignore him. I'll go into hiding for James and Lily, but I'm not doing it without knowing you're safe, too. Got it?" Remus stared into his eyes. They were stormy grey, no joking glint he'd been half-expecting.

"Okay, Remus?" He nodded, and Sirius smiled, satisfied.

"Good. Now…" He leaned in, and kissed him soundly.

"Mmph?" He started in surprise, before reacting, pushing forward as well.

He put his hand down for balance, and nearly tipped his glass. Pulling back, he grinned sheepishly at Sirius, who was looking at him with…

Love or lust, maybe some combination of both. He swallowed, mouth dry.

"Maybe we shouldn't do that with a table between us." He moved to sit further back (and when had he stood up at all?), but Sirius apparently had other plans, circling the table to kneel next to his chair. He moved forward again, grabbing Remus' shoulders and kissing at his neck.

"Ah! Sirius, no, I want to eat first…" Sirius chuckled against his throat.

"Not like that! I want to finish dinner, can you hold off until then, _please?_" Sirius paused, before growling a bit and pulling away, an almost-pout on his face.

"Thank you. Horny dog…" Remus shook his head, before setting to eating again.

The scrape of a chair drew his attention up, to see Sirius pulling his chair next to him and plopping back down with a grin.

"Problem, Moony?" Remus shook his head, and went back to eating. A hand appeared on his leg, sliding smoothly upwards towards his crotch.

"Sirius!" His fork clattered against his plate.

"Never said I couldn't try to convince you to eat faster, Moony~"

He didn't think he'd eaten a meal faster, to be honest.


	3. Chapter 3

Life never could be easy, could it?

It wasn't even the next morning that they were attacked. No, it was two hours after they'd finally gone to sleep, and only the complex security spells they'd laid into the building (Sirius' were loud and powerful; Remus' quiet and deadly) had woken them up in time to keep them alive. Or fighting in their boxers.

Remus hadn't decided which would have been a worse option yet.

It was only a small group, hardly a threat, but the fact that the Fidelus Charm had already been discovered was worrying, and that the Death Eaters knew their location more so.

"There's more to the spy. Dumbledore didn't tell _anyone_, and I don't think even he knew we were performing it tonight!" Sirius grunted out, as he shoved the last of their unconscious attackers into the living room. Remus was quickly packing all essentials into bags, shrinking them as they went.

"Listening spells? Or, if it is Pettigrew, he could be using his Animagus form and wandering in. We don't have any spells up that would keep him from hiding in the corner like that; the wards are already keyed to allow him in as a member of the Order." He closed the pack, and tapped it again with a Feather-light Charm.

"No, we really should look into those, shouldn't we? We need to tell Dumbledore; I don't think we can stay topside now…" Sirius pulled a face, looking over the mess that was their flat. Most of the furniture hadn't survived being used as shields to spells on the far side of legal, and the walls seemed significantly darker than they'd started.

He really hoped that wasn't blood; they would need to clean the place up before they left.

"We'll go meet him at Hogwarts; there wouldn't be any reason to spell the school; classes already started." Sirius snorted a bit in laughter.

"And what kind of Death Eater cares about the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, or who got detention for kissing in the Charms corridor after hours?"

"Sirius, not everyone is sent into Dumbledore's office for your laundry list of complaints. Do you still hold the record for detentions?" Remus finished the last of the bags, and moved to start repairing the couch. Sirius walked to the stain on the wall.

"I'll have you know that I do, and the only one to come close is James. And you're in no place to talk; _you _only got out of it because you were Teacher's Pet."

"And I'm a better liar than you."

"Not true! You were a _terrible _liar whenever we asked where you were going once a month!" Remus chuckled, glancing around the room. It looked none the worse for wear, discluding the unconscious Death Eaters tied up in the center of the room.

He scoffed. Only two; apparently they hadn't remembered who they were facing.

"I sent Patronus to the school; hopefully we caught him alone. Is that everything?" Sirius peered around the room. It felt too easy, being attacked by such a small number, and being ready to move on so soon after…

He was nearly deafened with the sound of dozens of Apparitions, moments later.

_XxX_

Dumbledore's first observation was that the flat was absolutely trashed. The second, that neither Remus, nor Sirius, nor their captives for that matter, were anywhere is sight.

He frowned. Perhaps they'd already left? Sirius' brief message had indicated that they were going into hiding as well, but he'd thought they had some information to pass on first.

Sirius had, or would soon, become the Potter's Secret Keeper. The sooner he could get away, the better.

There were obvious signs of a struggle, burn marks and spatters of blood marring most surfaces in the main room. A quick glance into the kitchen revealed that the fight hadn't spread, but someone had ripped the place apart in a hurry. Papers, utensils and even food from the cabinets lay scattered like fallen soldiers across the floor. He found it hard to believe either of them would leave the place in such disarray, but perhaps in a large hurry…?

He cleared away the mess quickly, and walked towards the bedrooms. Both were empty, save the same kind of chaos he'd found in the kitchen. No signs of fighting here either.

The bedding was in shreds, the mattresses ripped apart like there was some wild animal inside. If he didn't know Remus had ironclad control, he'd suspect this was caused by the wolf. Had one of their attackers been a werewolf? Or perhaps Sirius…? But why destroy things here? There didn't appear to be anything missing from the mattress.

He sighed, looking around again and beginning to repair the damage. He hoped that they had simply flown the coop, too quickly to clean up, but it was starting to look like they'd fled, perhaps chased by a second force. He'd need to assemble the Order and have them on the lookout.

At least this had gotten him out of the castle. He may be a patient man, but one more rant from Argus saying the castle had rats…

_XxX_

The room was dark, and smelled of mold. He really hated that smell, thought he might have an allergy to it, but he'd had to become used to it for his… job.

Really, he didn't know why he was here; they could do their tasks well enough without him hanging about. And what if one of them saw him, and somehow got word back to the Order…? It would be better to leave.

But his _Master_ thought otherwise; believed he may know some way of getting information out of the captive that they didn't know.

While this was possible, he didn't find it likely; said captive didn't tend to _have _weaknesses that weren't painfully obvious. He was an astoundingly open person to those who paid even a bit of attention. At least, he himself had always thought so, and what else was he good for but what he thought? He hadn't been recruited for his brains, or his brawn. Just his ability to gather information.

Why not, right? As long as it kept him breathing…

There was a moan, from deeper in the room. Their captive was waking.

He backed into the shadows, as the others crowded forward, faces split into ugly grins.

_XxX_

Waking up sucked. Dreaming was almost always better then reality nowadays. Waking injured was no better. He was inclined to say it was worse, but at least it brought you out of sleep faster, like ripping off a bandage.

And it was a reminder he was alive.

"Ugh… what did I drink last night?" No laughter, no change in the breathing around him. Which meant that he was much more injured than he'd thought, and deathbed mourners were standing over him, or he'd been captured.

Please let him be dying.

The feeling of chains around his wrists, of cold stone underneath his hands, and the smell of rot said that he wasn't. Unless this was the weirdest hospital ever.

Cold laughter.

"You'll wish you was dyin', soon enough." He'd apparently spoken aloud. Someone leaned in closer, by his ear. He resisted the urge to lean away from the rotting breath.

"Why not make this go faster? We can skip this whole thing, if you tell us where the Potters is hidin'."

Remus grinned sharply, finally opening his eyes and glaring upwards at his captor, a burly man with blackened teeth.

"What makes you think I'll tell you?"

_XxX_

Sirius awoke, and almost immediately began cursing. It was not for any normal reasons.

He wasn't in a cell. He wasn't injured. He was alone, is a safe house, with most, if not all, of his worldly possessions. His location didn't appear to be know to anyone, especially the enemy.

And this was going to be a major problem.

Because if he was safe and alone, it meant that Moony had not come along for the ride. And there was only one reason he wouldn't have:

He had been taken by the Death Eaters. And Remus was the only thing standing between them and himself, and therefore simply a roadblock to finding the Potters.

He rolled onto his feet, glancing around. The bags they'd packed, somehow shoved into his cloak during the brawl (and that was just a nice way to say wholesale slaughter) lay scattered like so many soldiers around him, shrunken contents falling out of one through a small hole in the side.

He cast his wand at the pile, packing everything back together and flying into the pockets of his cloak.

He sent another Patronus, barely managing not to Apparate right back to the flat to see what, if anything, the Death Eaters had left. He needed to know where they were, and the only one likely to know that was their spy on the other side. And the only one who knew who that was would be Dumbledore.

Thankfully, Dumbledore was much quicker to answer his message this time than last. He looked harried, and had a trace of blood on his robes. Had he been to their flat already?

"Albus. I need to know the location of the Death Eaters base. I know we have a spy. Who are they?" He was shaking with nervous tension, hand twitching towards his wand.

"Sirius, what are you talking about? What happened at your flat?" Albus, to his credit, didn't look like he was going to say no. Or Sirius didn't think so. His mind seemed doused in cold water, unable to fully grasp things like expression. His other senses were in overdrive, dog-half pushing its abilities forward to defend its pack.

"We were attacked. Once, I think, to gauge our strength, or numbers. Or they didn't know who was inside. After I sent you that message, we were attacked again. We were overwhelmed. Remus… I think Remus got me out of there, somehow. A distraction, maybe, and a Portkey. Now, they are going to realize he knows where _I _am, and I know where the Potters are. We finished the Fidelus charm last night." Now he looked surprised.

"Already? And they already know… The spy can't tell us where their base is, don't you know that? Riddle has a Secret Keeper as well. Sirius, you know I can't allow you to go yourself. We need to get a group together and plan." Sirius was shaking his head, he could feel the sounds of the trees whistling around him.

"Can't wait,; I don't know how long they'll hold him alive, and I don't want him there any longer than necessary. Please…" Something was pressing at the back of his head, a thought.

"The spy… Remus thought it was Peter. That's who he was following when we found the Muggles that poisoned you."

"Sirius, those are serious allegations-"

"We weren't going to say, because… not enough proof. But Peter's a rat."

"That's not-" That wasn't right…

"No, he can be a rat. An Animagus, like me. He turns into a rat." His head felt light, maybe he'd hit it when he'd been transported here? How had Remus managed that, anyway, during the fight?

_Had _it been Remus? Or was this a trap?

He found his wand pointed at his old Headmaster.

"Sirius?"

"What did you tell us after Halloween in sixth year?" The wand was steady. So was the blue gaze looking back at him.

"I asked you where the rest of your little band was. And I told you that you would make great Aurors if you'd only stop trying to be the ones that Aurors hunt." He and James had been the ones caught that day. Remus and Peter were part of the second part of the prank, and it had been important for Dumbledore and McGonagall to be absent at the time. Slowly, the wand dropped again. He placed it in the holster on his waist, but kept his hand on it.

"Sirius, are you okay?" His head hurt, terribly. Not like a head injury… Padfoot was in overdrive. Emotion was easier as Padfoot.

"No, I… I need to get to Remus. Please… The dog is trying to help. He can't think as well, makes emotions easier."

His vision went grey, and he dropped to all fours, panting. He could smell Remus, but only on him and the throw pillow he only just noticed, lying further away.

Dumbledore crouched down to look him in the eye. He smelled worried. Sirius only registered that on a basic level. The thing in his mind intensified, a beacon of gold where all thoughts about Remus hovered in pale red. The beacon was… pointing towards something? A place? He snuffled the ground, trying to figure out to how to transfer this feeling into his human thoughts.

Dumbledore was talking, a mere buzz in his ears. He shifted back, holding onto the calling he could feel. Wondered what it was. Hoped desperately it was Remus.

"I think I know where he is. But I have to go alone, or I pick the team. I can't trust some of the Order to help."

_XxX_

For Death Eaters, they weren't incredibly creative in methods of torture, Remus noticed. _Crucio_ spells seemed to be the only things they knew to do. In short doses, at least. They couldn't risk his sanity, couldn't risk him forgetting the information they were seeking.

He could smell Pettigrew here. That was a small pleasure, at least, being right. He'd kept him from being pulled into the circle of trust that James had created for himself, Lily and their unborn child.

They didn't know what to ask him. Where the Potters were, where Sirius was. Things he could keep deep in his mind, away from the part that longed to scream. Sirius would have moved away from where he'd sent him anyway. And he couldn't tell them where James and Lily were, though he used to know the address like the back of his hand. It lay underneath the shimmering layer of magic in his mind.

He could have told them that he'd killed Greyback, hid his body deep in the snow, where only the greatest of hunters would find him until spring, when the ices melted.

He could have told them information from the Order, not secrets but information. People's interactions. His mind was neatly segmented into 'private' and 'un-important.'

He was aware that he would only last so long without screaming out things, only a matter of time until they slipped him a potion, made him talk. He'd spent a long time making sure that when he talked, it wouldn't be anything helpful.

After that, Legilimency was their next logical step, and if that was unsuccessful, they would kill him, and move on to another victim. He hoped that by then Sirius and the Order had found a solution to his capture. Moving safe houses was a logical first step, changing codes and names.

His cell was cold, and empty at the moment. It was one of the breaks he was given, to preserve his mind and at the same time, hopefully making him tell them what they wanted to know. Solitude could be an effective weapon.

Not against someone who spent half their life hiding. But they hadn't thought of that.

They hadn't brought in any higher-up members, which was a bit worrying. They were likely looking for Sirius. He hoped he was well into hiding, but considering who Sirius was, it wasn't likely.

He found his thoughts were scattered. Hopefully it wasn't the curses; that would likely cause permanent damage. Something pushed at the back of his head, radiating a warm silver. When the spells came, he focused on that spot, and felt… safe. Calm.

It was in a spot of warmth, loving feelings that had grown stronger every time he and Sirius had been together. The silver was new, he hadn't felt it before their last night…

The full moon was soon. He hoped he would be running free, one way or another, not locked in a cage.

_XxX_

He couldn't believe Remus hadn't spoken yet. It would be so much easier than letting himself be tortured. Friends are one thing, but why would he sacrifice himself for them, especially when they had suspected him not long ago?

He thought it might be a werewolf thing, a feeling of pack. But Remus had always shown mastery over the wolf.

He didn't understand. Why did he put others before himself?

_XxX_

Mad Eye was dubious at best, but willing to listen. There were a few others he could trust, but Alastor was the one he wanted. He'd trained all of them.

"You have a sense of where he is? What the hell, Black." As he spoke, he was standing, tossing off the outer robes he wore, revealing fighting leathers beneath. Dragon hide, resilient to many spells and oddly flexible for such a thick material. Sirius was wearing a set as well.

"I'm guessing it's a werewolf thing. And I don't think Remus knew about it, or he would have said something."

"You sure it's not a trap?" He could feel the weight of the gaze, magical and not, heavy and thoughtful, but not judging.

"Dumbledore can't see it in my head, not that that says much. But… I can't say exactly how I know it's real. I…" He scowled, knowing that this was the key; if Alastor thought he was wrong, he was in this alone.

"Well, if it's a trap, then we'll surprise them. By being more prepared than they are. Let's get Kingsley, and those two teachers from Hogwarts. McGonagall, and Flitwick, he was a Dueling champion. You figured out where this thing is leading you yet?"

"Yeah. An abandoned neighborhood near Dufftown. Not far from the school, oddly enough."

"Got the exact address?" A flash of silver told him that Patronuses had been sent.

"No, didn't want to get too close. It's like a radar blip, or something. Gets stronger the closer I get, so I can't get an exact fix without walking closer. But I have it narrowed down to one street."

"Good enough. We'll likely be swarmed as soon as we get there, so we'll have to move fast, before they catch wind of why we're there are move." The _or worse_ bit was left unsaid. It was the only way Alastor would express his pity for what was going on.

A few minutes later, they had an Auror and two teachers sitting in Moody's living room, grim faced and determined.

"All right, we have a single captive being held in what looks like a residential location, clear of Muggles. We don't know their numbers but they appear low, as earlier scouting didn't reveal anyone nearby." McGonagall was looking at him closely, probably seeing the stress and what was causing it. She was very good at doing that.

"Who's being held there?" Flitwick was focused on Moody, as was Kingsley. Sirius supposed they were both slipping into battle-mode, and Moody was their superior.

"Remus Lupin. He's been there for two days already, so let's not waste time."

"Wait, two days? What took so long?" McGonagall's gaze was sharp.

"I was the only one that knew about it, and I was unconscious at first. After that, I had Dumbledore check my head to make sure that the location I'd gotten wasn't planted for an ambush. Though it's still a possibility. And I scouted the location before I came here. So. Two days." Inwardly, he winced, trying not to think of what they were doing to Remus. Or how long it took for permanent damage from curses to occur.

Remus was strong, and he was going as fast as he could. That's all he could allow himself to think about.

His hands were twitching again. But he felt steady.

As one, they Apparated out of the room, arriving on an abandoned street. It wasn't a large area, maybe twenty homes branching off what was once a thriving thoroughfare and now barely had a single traveler. He didn't know why the place was abandoned, but he guessed it had to do with the Death Eaters as neighbors.

He gestured silently, towards one of the houses. They were all equally silent, following his lead. He hadn't been put in charge for a while, but settled into the role easily. They went along uninterrupted until halfway along the block, when two men walked out of the house on the end.

In seconds, the air was alive with flashes of color, and the two were yelling back to the house for back-up.

"Black! Get in there and get him out! We've got it here!" Moody had settled behind a car on the street. The others were engaged with the enemy, but none of them seemed to be struggling. Whoever had organized Remus' capture hadn't expected them to come.

Or this was a trap.

He got into the house, blasting away anyone who was in his way. Faster than he expected, but most of them were on the street. Not thinking ahead, to leave guards.

There was a door, partially open, leading down to what was probably an indoor root cellar.

He slipped down, listening closely. He could hear breathing, but over the pounding in his ears he couldn't tell if it was one person or fifty.

In the end, it turned out to be two.

Remus was the first thing he saw, standing in the middle of the floor with his eyes closed. A wand was held to his temple.

The man behind him wasn't familiar. Long well-kept hair and expensive robes. Probably a pureblood. He grinned nastily at him.

"Want to put that down?" Remus was breathing shallowly, likely unconscious. He wasn't slumped, though. Perhaps a spell.

He couldn't move, looking at Remus' face. There were random muscles twitching, signs of _Crucio_ being done until the pain made the body incapable of staying calm. With therapy, he could recover.

"Now, unless you want him having a little accident." The man was smug, watching him. He clearly sure he had won. Sirius began to crouch, holding his wand out towards the ground.

Underneath his lids, Remus' eyes twitched.

"Now, hands on your head and eyes closed." He would be Stunned, Sirius knew, and they both would be brought to a new location. This was the plan. They wanted him, knowing that even if Remus didn't talk, he would eventually come for him. Their informant was good at their job.

He wasn't good at casting without touching his wand. Dumbledore could do it, he knew. Remus had, once or twice, but they'd never found a way to effectively teach each other.

He slowly closed his eyes, watching through his lashes as the man loosened his hold on Remus. Just enough to draw his wand away from his head.

Remus' eyes flashed open.

He elbowed backwards, falling forward as the man gasped. Sirius leapt, transforming in the air, landing on the mans chest heavily and baring his teeth. The wand rolled away, into the darkness.

"Sirius?" Remus' voice was weak, but steady. He couldn't hear anything like movement; he might not be able to stand.

He yipped in acknowledgement, but didn't change back. The man was heavier than him; it was only terror at his fangs that was keeping him from fighting.

"Black! Where the hell are you?" Moody was yelling from upstairs, but not long after footsteps were coming down the stairs.

"Lupin? Where's…" McGonagall. Ooh, she was going to be pissed when she realized.

"Move away, I've got him. Black, you have some explaining to do." He stepped away, letting his tongue loll out in a grin. A Stunner flew past him, hitting straight in the chest.

"A cousin of the Durmstrangs, I believe. We got the others, not one that we saw got away. Black, change back. I have no urge to translate Dog." He shifted back, and immediately made his way towards Remus, who had pulled himself against the wall. The place was small, fitted with chains into the walls. Stone floors and walls, likely older than the house itself.

"Are you alright?" The others came down, except Flitwick. He was likely watching the other captives. Remus nodded, slowly, like he could barely lift his head back after each drop.

"We need to get both of you to the Hospital. At Hogwarts, we shouldn't risk this to St. Mungo's. Moody, help me carry Remus. Sirius, are you alright? You look ill." Kingsley was gently lifting Remus off the ground, walking up the stairs. Sirius stood as well, following like a moth to the flame.

Behind him, they were talking of how to get the Death Eaters to… wherever their captives went. The Ministry? Hogwarts? Who knew.

The fireplace was Floo enabled. Kingsley was walking into it as he watched, calling out "Hospital Wing, Hogwarts," and vanishing into green flames.

Sirius already had a handful of powder when a hand landed on his shoulder. He looked back into blue eyes.

"Black. Do you need medical attention?" His head shook from side to side. He'd been grazed by a few spells, and part of his arm felt wet and warm, but nothing life threatening.

"We've called some more members to help clean up. Wait until then before following them, okay?" He nodded, head heavy. The gold in his mind throbbed.

_XxX_

Sirius sat watching while Remus lay on the bed, asleep with potions and spells coursing through him, healing the damage the curses had caused.

"They didn't cast too much, probably to keep from causing damage to his memory. That and his lycanthropy… he should make a complete recovery with a bit of therapy. You can both stay here until then, I imagine." Madam Pomfrey stood by him, smiling a bit.

His thoughts felt more focused, the closer he was to Remus. He really hoped this wasn't permanent.

"And after that? Do you think Albus'll have us go into hiding?" She shrugged.

"I don't know. But it seems likely." She turned to leave.

"Oh, he should be awake soon. Let me know the moment he wakes up." She disappeared into her office. Many years of them sitting by each others bedsides, all four of them, had desensitized her to Marauders loitering in her Hospital.

His arm was a bit numb. Madam Pomfrey had coated it with some salve to stave off any infection caused by unknown spells.

"Sirius?" He looked up in surprise, unaware of how long he'd been zoned out.

"Moony! Glad to see you awake. How're you feeling?" Remus tried to sit up, before groaning and flopping back again.

"Sore. Twitchy. Feels like I overdosed on Pepper-Up and then got in a brawl." Sirius snorted, relaxing into his chair.

"So. How'd you find me?" He closed his eyes, thinking back onto the gold in his mind. Absently, he prodded it, and heard Remus gasp.

"That's how. What is it?" He opened his eyes back up.

"I… It may be a mating bond. But that's just a legend…"Sirius leaned forward, grasping Remus' hand on the sheet carefully.

"What's the legend?"

"Just… destined pairs have a, well, bond. It depends on the people involved, the strength of their magical cores and lycanthropy. I suppose your Animagus counts. That's all I know. Most of the stories focused on specific people, legendary wolves that found their mates." Remus looked at him closely, trying to see his reaction.

"Sirius?" He blinked, looking back at him.

"I… okay then."

"That's it?" He nodded slowly.

"Yeah… It's not like you knew about this either. We'll have to look into it." Remus grinned at him.

"We'll have plenty of time. After all, I kinda doubt we'll be staying in the open after this. Frankly, I think we were lucky that nothing went seriously wrong."

"It was a trap." They both looked up to see both Moody and Dumbledore walking towards them. The old teacher looked troubled.

"I thought it might be. They didn't have nearly enough guards." Moody nodded.

"My bet was they were hoping you'd go in alone. The Potters going into hiding, you're the most likely choice for Secret Keeper." He was watching them closely, and it occurred to Sirius that none of them knew, for sure, that he was actually the Secret Keeper.

"The guy that was in the cell was waiting. I bet the whole thing was planned like that. Rem, I'm sorry to say that you were probably bait." Remus snorted.

"They wanted to know where you were. They were hoping I knew where you were. Or James and Lily. They didn't know which of us were the Secret Keeper." He closed his eyes briefly, and Sirius squeezed his hand a bit. The gold in his head strengthened, and seemed to settle a bit. The bond, if that was what it was, seemed to need contact to finish.

"Either of you were probably candidates, considering the rather public retraction of that Remus being a spy nonsense. Regardless, whoever the spy is knew you would be together, and that one of you knew where they were." Moody yanked a chair closer, sitting down heavily and watching them both. Sirius glanced at Dumbledore.

"I know your theory, Sirius, and I will be looking into it. However, as you both probably know, you need to-"

"Go into hiding. We know. We were about to depart when that second wave of attack came at us. But…" Sirius glanced at Remus, unsure how to continue.

"I need medical assistance for the curses. How long can we stay at the school when classes are already in session? For that matter, how have we been here as long as we have without being seen?" Dumbledore pulled another chair up as well, sitting down.

"Hogsmeade weekend. It's Halloween, didn't you know? There are very few students in the school at all, and we've had the paintings watching out for anyone coming this way. As to staying here…" He put his fingers together, considering.

"Both of you have vast experience from Order business. We can have both of you guest lecture in some classes. I'll ask the teachers to look at their lesson plans, and get the elves to set up some rooms for you near here. After that, we can organize a place for you both to go."

"Works for me. Sirius?" Sirius couldn't nod fast enough.

"Chance to stay connected _and _indoctrinate innocent children? Done!" Sirius was sure Remus would have smacked his if they hadn't been holding hands.

_XxX_

"We've set a tail on Pettigrew. If you both are correct, it won't be long until we get proof of it and can get him and, hopefully, some of his friends. Meanwhile we've kept him out of the loop on anything important without cutting him off completely. We don't want him to know we're onto him." Moody looked satisfied with all of this. Sirius wanted to move faster, but he could understand their reluctance.

"I could smell him, you know. Back there. He was in the room, hiding in the shadows." Remus didn't open his eyes as he said this, continuing his relaxation exercises. He'd been given regime of physical and mental tasks to go with the potions he was taking to recover.

"Unfortunately, werewolf senses won't hold up in court. Stupid, but true. Maybe in the future we can work on equality. But that's good; it means we're going after the right rat." Sirius nodded, rubbing at his eyes.

"Still stupid. Seriously, we're fighting someone who wants to subdue over half of the human race, and here we are the same thing to a different part. Soon as we can get people to listen, I'm attacking the whole thing."

Remus opened his eyes, looking over at him.

"I'll help. I want to hire you both permanently when you're out of hiding, by the way. You're both good and we'll need people to help the clean-up." Moody stood, using the chair as support.

"I'll leave you both to it." He walked out, quickly despite his rather obvious limp. Remus hoped it wasn't permanent, whatever injury that was causing him pain.

"Remus? You okay? You stopped your weird exercises…" Sirius was leaning close, looking at him with worry. Remus smiled, looking back up at him.

"Yeah. Just distracted. Have you ever heard Moody give someone a compliment before?" Sirius chuckled, but his face didn't clear entirely of concern. He did lean back, though, as Remus continued to move.

"Once, I think. But I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic; it was James, after all." The joke fell a bit flat. The situation felt bleak, despite their relative successes. James and Lily were in hiding, as were at least two other families of good people, driven from their homes because of a threat they couldn't seem to defeat.

People were _dying_, for no better reason than they were born to the wrong type of people, or for just being in the way, and all many of them could do was hide away to protect those they loved. Remus hated the situation, and knew Sirius did, too.

But what could they do? James and Lily, and their child, when he was born, (Remus knew it would be a boy; something told him it would) depended on Sirius never revealing their location.

And Remus? He was the one thing they would target, when Sirius was gone. Their last link to the Potters, whatever the reason Voldemort had for seeking them out in the first place.

He finished the stretches, but made no move to sit up. He had to focus on the positives, right? They were all alive, that was the major one. Their side had suffered major losses, but those he loved the most were safe. As guilty as it made him feel, that thought was helpful.

He and Sirius weren't at each others throats, far from it. He could teach, his one dream, at the one place that had felt like home through his entire childhood. There were still children to _teach._ Hogwarts was one of the safest places on Earth right now.

Sirius was watching him, and seemed to relax when he met his eyes.

"It'll be alright, Moony. We're going to get through this, don't forget it."


End file.
